BLACKBURN has waited at least two decades for the face-lift on the worn-out, shabby Boulevard bus station that used to greet visitors to the town.

But now the £1.2million revamp is complete, it looks terrific and is a credit to the partnership behind the redesign.

Yet, there's still work to do.

Blackburn is one of the few towns to have cheek-by-jowl rail and bus termini. But though the exterior of its magnificent, listed railway station has been splendidly renovated in conjunction with the Boulevard improvements, inside, on the platforms, it is a disgraceful slum.

It provides an eyesore first impression to everyone arriving by rail. But there are plans to spruce up the rest of the station - though the money for them is another matter,

We want them to get on with the job soon and with gusto. But with foresight, too.

For Blackburn Station is a Victorian gem.

Rather than destroy its treasures so that it looks like a plasticised any-town arrival point, why not preserve and restore them - so that it is not just an attractive re-born period piece, but an attraction in itself and a great advertisement for the town?

Furthermore, as visitors to nearby Blackburn Cathedral will see at present, the town has a marvellous collection of railway memorabilia - gathered by local enthusiasts - that needs a permanent home.

Would not Blackburn station, restored to its full Victorian glory, be the ideal place for a rail museum that people would want to come and see along with the rest of the town?

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